Netherlands met Montenegro in another game of the World Cup qualifiers. Louis van Gaal named a very strong squad for that encounter. His first team had Justin Bijlow in the goalpost. The defence had Dumfries, Stefan de Vrij, Mattijs de Ligt and Tyrell Malacia. The midfield had Georginio Wijnaldum who also doubled as the captain of the side since Virgil Van Dijk was left on the bench, Frenkie de Jong and Davy Klaassen. He had a packed forward line with players like Steven Berghuis, Memphis Depay and Cody Gakpo. He used a 4-3-3 formation which really worked out for him.
Miodrag Radulovic also named a very strong squad for Montenegro. Matija Sarkic was in the goalpost. The defence had Risto Radunovic Tomasevic, Stefan Savic and Marko Vesovic. The midfield had Milutin Osmajic, Dusan Lagator Scekic and Adam Marusic. The forward line had Stefan Mugosa and Drasko Bozovic. He used a 4-4-2 formation and it did not work very well for him.
The first half was a very tough one and all the two teams looked very strong. The Netherlands players tried their best to get a goal but the defenders were too strong. Memphis Depay was brought down in the penalty box and the referee awarded a penalty. He took it and scored the first goal of the game. The first half ended 1-0 in favor of Netherlands.
The second half also started on a very high note. The Montenegro Manager made an immediate change. He removed Stefan Savic and replaced him with Marco Simic. He also substituted Marko Vesovic and replaced him with Marko Vukcevic. These changes did not bring any impact. Cody Gakpo gave Memphis Depay a good pass and he added his second goal and the second goal for his Nation.
The Montenegro Coach made his last changes and replaced Drasko Bozoic with Milos Raickoic, Adam Marusic with Sead haksabanovic and Aleksandar Scekic with Nikola ujnovic. The Netherlands players increased their goal tally and got the third goal through Georginio Wijnaldum who got an assist from Steven Berghuis.
Cody Gakpo also got into the score sheet after he received a good pass from Tyrell Malacia. This was the fourth goal for Netherlands. Louis van Gaal made some more changes in order to add strength to his team. He rested Georginio Wijnaldum and replaced him with Marten de Roon. Cody Gakpo was also substituted and his place was taken by Steven Bergwijn. Frankie de Jong also paved way for Guus Til.
The game ended 4-0 in favor of Netherands. This gave the Nation three more points and it pushed it to position two in the group standings with 10 points, just one point behind the leaders Turkey. Montenegro lies in position four with only 7 points. The group is still an open one and the table can still be turned depending on how the teams will perform in their remaining matches.The Netherlands players performed very well after their Manager told them that they did not play like professional footballers in their last game against Norway which ended 1-1.
France on the other hand was held to a 1-1 draw with Ukraine. Didier Deschamps named a very strong squad with Hugo Lloris in the goalpost. The defence had Lucas Digne Kimpembe, Kurt Zouma and Leo Dubois. The new West Ham player replaced Raphael Varane in the central defence. The midfield had Adrien Rabiot, Aurelien Tchouameni and Paul Pogba. The forward line had Kingsley Coman, Anthony Martial and Anntoine Griezmann. The Manager used a 4-3-3 formation and it did not give him the result that he wanted.
Oleksandr Petrakov also named a very strong squad for that encounter. He gave Andriy Pyatov the opportunity to be in the goalpost. The defence had Illia Zabarnyi, Sergey Krivtsov and Mykola Matviyenko. The midfield had Tymchyk, Stepanenko, Shaparenko and Mykolenko. The forward line had Yarmolenko, Viktor Tsigankov and Roman Yaremchuk. He used a 3-4-2-1 formation and it worked for him.
The first half started on a very high note and the Ukraine players were superior as compared to the French players. Mykola Shaparenko scored the opening goal. The first half ended 1-0 in favor of Ukraine. The second half resumed on a very high note and the French players pulled one goal back. Anhtony Martial pulled one goal back. This goal regained his confidence because he has missed in the Frech national team for a long time. The goal will also help him to fight for his place in Ole Gunnar’s first team at Old Trafford.
Didier Deschamps made some changes in order to get better results. He removed Anthony Martial and replaced him with Karim Benzema. Kingsley Coman also paved way for Moussa Diaby. Aurelien Tchouameni also gave way for Jordan Veretout. The Manager of Ukraine also made some changes and substituted Viktor Tsigankov and replaced him with Ruslan Malinovsky, Roman Yaremchuk with Danyo Sikan, Mykola Shaparenko with Serhiy Sydorchuk and Andriy Yarmolenko with Oleksandr Zubkov. The game ended 1-1 and all the two teams got one point each.
France is still leading the the table with nine points while Ukraine lies in the third position with 5 points. The Nation has the same points just like Finland but the only thing separating them is their goal difference. The favorites of this group are France and Ukraine or Finland. The 1-1 draw against France will now propel the Nation to greater heights because France is a very strong team.
France however did not play very well and the Manager should try very hard so that his team can win the next game. He should use a new strategy that can help his team to get back to winning ways. The midfield was not a very strong one and Ngolo Kante’s effect was felt because he is the one who always controls the midfield very well alongside Paul Pogba. The strikers were also not very lethal, Martial tried his best but Griezmann and Benzema did not perform very well. Credit can however be given to the defenders of Ukraine because they stood tall throughout the game.
